CLASSIC CRUISING
TWO FOR DINNER
With two distinct venues, dining on board is a much-anticipated highlight of the overall experience. The main formal dining room is the MARCO POLO
restaurant, set low in the middle of the ship for maximum comfort. All meals are open seating and emphasise as much use of local produce as is practical. Dinners typically feature three appetisers, a trio of soups and salads, four main courses, a quartet of desserts and cheese choices aplenty. Complimentary local wines are served with
dinner, as are beer and soft drinks. Gerry Herrod continues to champion Filipino service staff, and the result is a uniformly delightful dining experience. Jackets and ties are not compulsory, which is a welcome concession to the often-stifling climate the ship sails in. Combined with food that is unfailingly top notch, served up in an artfully lit chamber, dinner here is the highlight of the day for many. For all that, I preferred the upper deck lido, which doubles up as a venue called TAPAS ON THE TERRACE for dinner. The same cuisine is on offer, with a buffet-style counter and main courses served to the table. Those tables are sprinkled across a wide expanse of deck and come with the same canvas chairs as the balconies. With some stunning Aegean sunsets as a potential side order each evening, dining here had an almost mesmerising quality. It was certainly busy each evening. And, yes, it did offer up some pretty astonishing tapas on a nightly basis.
feel of an upscale country club – but without the brutal drink prices. It is also the venue for late- night snacks that appear after dinner each night. The veteran owner has always believed in ensuring the mind is as well fed as the inner passenger and, for this, Odyssey serves up a series of renowned lecturers on each cruise, tailored to suit the particular itinerary. Many of the talks take place before or after dinner and, while this may surprise some, you should bear in mind this is a pretty cerebral crowd. If you are looking for late- night parties, this is not the ship for you. There is no disco or casino, but the quality of the lecture programme is a sure-fire bet when it comes to providing a comprehensive insight into
76 WORLD OF CRUISING I Autumn 2011
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